Why it’s Important for Recruiters to Inspire their Candidates

Many jobs, and a skills shortage normally spells a lack of candidates for recruiters.

We are in the grip of a massive skills shortage so great candidates aren’t always as easy to find

The truth is skill shortages for recruiters, means that you often have a harder time convincing candidates to accept opportunities. Rejections of your clients offers are rising in the current climate, and perhaps you’re having a hard time keeping clients appeased as to why the candidates you’re putting forward are not accepting the role.

So, you can’t just put your hands up in the air and tell the client that what they’re offering isn’t attractive enough (although a tactful word might be in order if they really are falling short on salary or benefits.)

You need to fill this role. You need to keep the client happy. So how do you go about reframing it so that your candidate appreciates the value and opportunity in the offer?

Often, the job on offer is a good offer, so the key is getting the candidate to see that, or at least understand why they think it’s not for them so that you can find a more suitable role for them. (This is where an in-depth, honest chat at the beginning of your recruiter-candidate relationship can certainly save you time and frustration later!)

Managing expectations is important. In this day and age, progressive corporations are well-known for their ‘great culture’ ‘amazing perks’ and sending their employees off to save orang-utans, or whatever the newest corporate responsibility venture is. These very well-publicised employee engagement initiatives by Google et al are creating a perhaps distorted impression of working life for Millennials, who are becoming increasingly selective (some might say demanding) about their working conditions and benefits package.

Problem is, your client might not have the capacity or the inclination to change their incentive schemes, which leaves the top talent going elsewhere.

So, how do you do it? How do you inspire your candidate to take the job?

a. Go back to your notes about the candidate and what they want, and scour the job description for matching elements that they might not have appreciated.

b. Paint a visual picture for the employee about all the good things about the job.

c. Focus heavily on the opportunities the role offers. Potential for promotion is the most obvious, but pull out all and any potential opportunities, from access to certain individuals they might admire, to training opportunities. Get them to look at LinkedIn for people they’ll be working with, or what past successful employees of the company are doing now.

d. When a salary is the sticking point, find or negotiate alternative plus-points of the job. Perhaps it’s working from home one day a week, or a great team culture.

e. Get them to imagine the future and how this job could shape their career long into the future. Paint a picture of what kind of jobs they could apply for when they have a couple of years at this company under their belt.

Of course, if the candidate is still not convinced, there’s no point whatsoever in pushing the point- this article is about inspiration, not coercion!  If you lean too heavily on someone to take a job that they have serious doubts about, then you’ll almost face an embarrassing situation when they leave after six months- and you’ll have a less-than-pleased client and a less than pleased candidate to deal with.  And we don’t want that!

Successful inspiration relies on creating a positive picture in a candidate’s mind, one that reassures them that this is a clever option for their future and gets them excited about what lies ahead.

Until next time

Cheryl